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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Professional Fighters League began 2024 with a ton of questions and momentum following their acquisition of Bellator. Less than halfway through the year, the perception of the organization is in a much different place — and even more so after a week of bad PR.

On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to Davis’ comments about Kayla Harrison, multiple fighters calling out the promotion for different reasons, Gegard Mousasi threatening legal action before getting released a day later, and the lack of buzz amongst the MMA community. Additionally, listener topics include Carlos Ulberg stepping in to face Jamahal Hill at UFC 303, Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2 at UFC 304, Aljamain Sterling’s next opponent, Dustin Poirier’s prediction of knocking Islam Makhachev out at UFC 302 next weekend, and more.

You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces.

If you miss it live, audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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A bold claim
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Top-ranked Bantamweights are heading to Abu Dhabi! According to a first report from Ag. Fight and confirmed by MMA Fighting, Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo is verbally agreed as part of the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi event, which is scheduled for August 3 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Vera is currently ranked No. 4 at 135-pounds. “Chito” was last seen in the Octagon opposite Sean O’Malley, who used him as a punching bag for most of five rounds. Prior to that defeat, Vera won five of his previous six to establish himself as a top-tier Bantamweight, though Cory Sandhagen did also dominate the Ecuadorian talent in the midst of his rise.

Meanwhile, Figueiredo is chasing gold in a second weight class. The Brazilian’s Flyweight title reign ended with a back-and-forth rivalry opposite Brandon Moreno, but he’s been perfect since moving up to Bantamweight. “Daico” beat up Rob Font then stopped Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300 (watch here), earning the No. 6 spot in the UFC rankings.

Two men enter the cage, but only one leaves as a Top Five-ranked contender relevant to the title mix. Who ya’ got?

Insomnia

Jon Jones is in constant verbal feud with the MMA fanbase over this whole not-fighting-the-interim champion thing.

Alex Pereira was actually taking it pretty easy until his partner tried to punch his way off the wall.

Paulo Costa is studying his opposition!

I don’t fully understand Alexander Volkov’s latest Instagram skit.

Get more limber with the help of Georges St. Pierre (and a stick).

Islam Makhachev’s UFC 302 fight camp is presumably about wrapped up, and the champ has surely earned some downtime.

Maybe my immaturity is showing, but I love a press conference shoving match.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A massive face plant from the recent Road To UFC fights:

Gheirati almost chambered his knee before unrolling the push kick, and that angle caught his opponent off-guard.

It won’t happen, but Kyoji Horiguchi getting a second chance at a UFC title would be so cool. His name would go so far in avoiding the constant Flyweight rematches …

Random Land

The fastest animal on the planet in action.

Midnight Music: Country, 1974

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC 303 is going to be an Irish affair.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Friday that undefeated Irish contender Ian Machado Garry and longtime Bellator contender Michael Page are set to collide in a pivotal welterweight showdown on the June 29 card in Las Vegas.

Garry’s countryman, Conor McGregor, of course headlines the event with his long-awaited return against Michael Chandler.

Garry (14-0) is MMA Fighting’s No. 8 ranked welterweight in the world. The 26-year-old contender has won all seven of his UFC appearances, highlighted by performances over Geoff Neal, Neil Magny, and Daniel Rodriguez.

Garry repeatedly targeted three-time title challenger Colby Covington following his most recent win over Neal, however now he’ll draw Page instead.

Page (22-2) is MMA Fighting’s No. 14 ranked welterweight in the world. A one-time Bellator interim title challenger, “MVP” racked up a slew of records over the course of his decade with the company, including the most stoppage victories (10) and the most knockouts in Bellator welterweight history (9). He is also tied with Patricky Pitbull for the most knockouts overall in promotional history (11) and fourth on the all-time Bellator wins list (17).

At age 37, Page made his UFC debut in March with a dominant decision over Kevin Holland.

UFC 303 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Conor McGregor will earn himself a title fight with a win over Michael Chandler.

That comes according to UFC Hall of Famer who delivered the hot take during a recent episode of his EPSN show Good Guy/Bad Guy alongside co-host Chael Sonnen. However, if McGregor comes up short during International Fight Week, ‘DC’ hopes to see him saddled with Tony Ferguson.

“If he gets through Michael Chandler, I say give him a title fight,” Cormier said. “Put him in there with [Dustin] Poirier or [Islam] Makhachev on Mexican Independence Day or some time soon thereafter. If he loses, put him in there with Tony Ferguson.

“Tony Ferguson deserves to have that big platform the last time to see if he can go and do what he said he was going to do to Conor all of those times and so long ago.”

McGregor will step inside the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, June 29 when he headlines UFC 303 against the former Bellator MMA champion.

With their bout taking place at 170 pounds, it’s hard to imagine ‘Mystic Mac’ securing a lightweight title opportunity even with the most impressive of wins, but it certainly sounds like welterweight king Leon Edwards is down for a scrap with the former two-division champ, so there’s that.

Are we headed toward conor mcGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 4?

As far as the lightweight division goes, fans will see Islam Makhachev put the 155-pound strap on the line at UFC 302 when he meets three-time Conor McGregor opponent Dustin Poirier inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Poirier is walking into his third shot at UFC gold with a do-or-die attitude, suggesting that it’s either win or go home against the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ in The Garden State.

Who knows, maybe the stars will align and we’ll see both McGregor and Poirier walk away winners, setting the stage for a fourth meeting between the two MMA icons — even if Poirier insists that ship has sailed.

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After falling short in his first attempt to capture UFC gold, Marlon Vera looks to bounce back against a former world titleholder.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Vera is targeted to face former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Abu Dhabi, which takes place Aug. 3. Verbal agreements are in place for the pivotal 135-pound matchup. Ag. Fight was first to report the pairing.

Currently, both fighters are tied for the No. 10 spot at 135 pounds in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings.

In his most recent appearance, Vera dropped a unanimous decision to bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 299 in March. Prior to that, “Chito” picked up a decision victory over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292 to earn his opportunity to fight for UFC gold. He still remains the only man to defeat O’Malley in the octagon.

Figueiredo, a two-time UFC flyweight champ, has looked sensational since making the move up to 135 pounds, earning a dominant decision win over Rob Font at UFC Austin this past December, then submitting former 135-pound champ Cody Garbrandt in the second round at April’s memorable UFC 300 event.

UFC Abu Dhabi features Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event.

Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts